Chicago Catholic Immigrants Conference: The Italians

The conference invites 20-30 minute papers that look at the late 19th and 20th century Italian immigration, with an emphasis on Chicago and the Midwest. Presentations may be given from the viewpoint of ethnic studies, urban and cultural history, literature and language, theology, and the sociology of religion. Italian-American artists are also welcomed to propose a topic or work of art for exhibition or performance.

Topics for presentation include: – Italian American Migration– Italian Nationalism and Americanism – The demographics of Italian neighborhoods, then and now – The role Italian-American personalities and religious orders in the development of Catholicism in Chicago of the 19th and 20th century – Cult and Culture, Devotional practices of Italian-Americans – The Catholic Imagination in Italian-Americans: Music, Literature, Film, Painting